Trick or Treat

This Kid is Going to be Just Fine

When I picked up H from his sitters he was giggling and laughing when I first put him in his seat, but once I started driving he started crying and screaming. So, I did what I normally do, I sang to him, tried talking to him, even blew bubble sounds, and got nothing. Well, going down a wet highway with a screaming baby is about the last thing on my fun list, so I finally dipped into the iPod. I threw the first thing on which happened to be Wilco. He stopped crying right away. I thought he was asleep but when we got home little man was just hanging out in the backseat, listening to music.

First Jack Johnson and Ben Harper, now Wilco. Yup, little man will be just fine!

Milk Breath Moments

On the days that Liz works H and I are usually in survival mode. In the mornings it is a race to get out the door, backpack, computer bag, and milk cooler in tow. In the evening it is a race against traffic and time to get home so we can have a few minutes before bath and bedtime to hang out. Usually it is a hurried ten minutes as I get everything out and ready, as we talk and tell each other about our respective days. For some reason his always sound better than mine! Usually, I feed him and spend a quite minute or two as he falls asleep, rocking in the chair, then I put him down and go play a little NCAA Football, check email, or catch up on news and PTI, trying to get a few quite moments before Liz gets home.

I don't know if it was the cold, damp, Indiana fall day, the lack of sleep from last night, or what, but tonight we just sat and rocked away for much longer than usual. I couldn't put him down. I just sat there holding him, his arm splayed across my chest, his deep baby breaths, Mozart playing softly in the room, and we just sat there. The quite house, dark, heating up as the furnace kicked in for one of the first times this fall, and his sweet milk breath, warming my neck.

Milk breath moments

Possibly The Cutest Kid at the Pumpkin Patch

See all the pictures here

Four Months

We can probably say with certainty that this last month has been the best yet, well, until the last week or so anyway. I made the comment to mommy a few weeks ago that you are starting to be fun! Don't get me wrong, the first few months were good, but I equate them more to survival than anything else. Now, you are starting to laugh and giggle so much more. You know who we are and you smile all the time. You also laugh great big belly laughs when you are a happy boy. You can pick things up and hold them in your hands, not for very long, but you are getting better with each day. We are still finding out how to soothe you, but mommy knows that you like it when she "eats little baby belly's"! You also have a new cry now, which we haven't heard until the last few weeks. It is almost like a laugh and a cry. You pucker your little mouth like you are saying "ma ma" and you make a funny little noise, almost like a moose call or something. It is quickly followed by a whine. It is funny and momma is convinced you are calling out for her specifically.

The last week or so has been a little bit of a test. You are starting to teeth and you seem to be the crankiest little thing you have ever been. It is not your fault of course, but you seem to not know whether you are tired, hungry, or both. The good news is the doctor thinks you are ready to get started on baby cereal, and mom is convinced that this weekend will be your first shot, especially if you are still as cranky as you have been the last few days.

You went to the doctor this week and you are certainly growing, though it seems you are growing up and not out. You are only 13 lbs and 6 oz, which is the 25th percentile for weight, but you are 25.5 inches which is the 75th percentile for height.

All in all this has been a great fourth month. Mommy and I are so lucky to have you and are really getting excited for the holidays to come so we can spend them with our little man!

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Our new pictures are up and you can see them here

Some of the Best Things

- The way you sleep, kind of like you are signaling a touchdown
- The way your arms flutter like a bird when you get excited
- The way you make Loon noises when you are sleepy
- Your little giggle when you see mommy
- That you like to be naked when you get ready for your bath, and that you cry when we try to get you dressed again
- The way you blow bubbles
- Your little smile when we walk in to get you out of bed
- Your slobbery baby kisses
- That you open your mouth when mommy and I kiss your cheek

New pictures up on Flickr